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Why the 2018 Air Jordan 11 ‘Concord’ is the Shoe of the Year

The beloved Air Jordan 11 ‘Concord’ is the Retro release we’ve all been waiting for.

Don’t expect this release to sit like a brick in the same way the Air Jordan 11 ‘Platinum Tints’ have been.

The Air Jordan 11 ‘Concord’ has and always will be a classic amongst classics. It was the first colorway of the Air Jordan 11 the world saw. We were shown the shoes for the first time on live television just before the Chicago Bulls took on the Orlando Magic in the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

While MJ and the Bulls lost their matchup to the Orlando Magic that year, they came back even stronger the following season to establish themselves as the best basketball team the world has ever seen. Winning 72-10 regular season games — a record that has since been broken by the Golden State Warriors, but it don’t mean a thing without a ring.

Why does all this matter? Nothing written is about the shoes. To that, I say, for shame. Everything written is all about the shoes. Its why I love the Air Jordan 11. Its why the Concord version of the shoe is the best one — personal opinion of course. The only reason, besides the shoe being dead sexy, why most of us were so enamored with the Air Jordan 11 is due to the amazing feats and accomplishments — even the fails — that MJ performed while lacing them up.

While most consumers buying the shoe this Holiday season will be doing so to look cool. Because it’s the ‘thing to do’ every year. The hype dictates it to be. I’ll be buying a pair because I witness true greatness night in and night out for the single most amazing NBA season and Championship run I’ve ever seen.

10 Comments

These are my grail. Been trying to get a pair since they originally released back in the 90’s. My family was too poor ( I think I got a SUPER discounted Penny that year) and then I struck out on EVERY single damn retro that followed. I just NEED one pair but if I can this is a definite double up.

This is not my favorite Jordan, but it is the most significant for me. It’s the one that got me hooked. I remember being in 3rd grade and going to basketball practices with my brother’s 5th grade team because my dad was the coach. One day a kid showed up in these and that was it. It was over. Literally still remember the day. All the parents gossiped about his family and how he was wearing shoes that cost over $100 because the rest of us were wearing $20-$30 joints. This is my first real chance to afford this shoe. I’ve been waiting for over $20 years.

two things that doesn’t quite make these appealing to me. the high-cut patent leather (although forgivable). but the 2nd reason is the main thing that gives me a No-No to these, namely “45”. probably because it’s not an MJ icon number but a MJ baseball number. not a must cop but doable. I’d rather have the cap and gown.

i don’t recall the patent leather being that high on the sides… anyway, i still remember when i first saw them on TV as mentioned by nightwing… then on the back of a magazine — i forget which sport magazine it was — then in a sneaker store in hong kong as i was there for work and luckily i was able to get a pair (i saved up my per diem just to be able to afford it, surviving on cup noodle and pound cake). i was so excited to show my friends when i got back to the philippines but back then, not many people really liked them that much — some even joked it was for “formal” training or something to that effect. to each his own i suppose… i actually still have my pair although the patent is now stiff and cracked, the soles (now separated from the midsole which i tried unsuccessfully to fix with super glue) are now yellowish with some red sections because it absorbed the red wax they used on our office wooden floors… the ballistic nylon all dirty, grimy… but i can’t bear to throw them away because of what i had to go through just to get it back then (the wifey would throw them out in a heartbeat if she knew i was still hanging on to it :p)… i have tried to get another pair but no such luck… and while i can afford it this time around, i don’t want to pay what i feel is the “exploitative” reseller prices… maybe this release i will get lucky. while these have the correctly facing left shoe jumpman, it’s still not the same as these feature the number 45 on them and what i want is what i originally got back then, the one with the 23.

why can’t they just release 2 versions? these ones with the 45 like what mj wore for those that want those, and then how it was originally released to the public with the 23, like how i remember it.